1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer and projector equipped with a micromirror device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printer and projector which is equipped with a micromirror device, can have a small size and can operate at high speed.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
An example of printer is a color photographic printer, which prints an image to photographic paper as photosensitive material, the image being obtained from negative photo film. Examples of the printer includes an analog printing type and digital printing type. In the analog printing type, light transmitted through the photo film is directly projected to the photographic paper. The digital printing type utilizes a cathode ray tube (CRT), laser, liquid crystal or the like. In the printer with the laser or liquid crystal, there is a spatial light modulator, which modulates three-color light emitted from a light source to adjust intensity, or deflects the three-color light.
A known example of the spatial light modulator is a mirror type, which includes a great number of micromirrors in an extremely small size, and in which spot light is deflected by controlling an inclination of the micromirrors. The spatial light modulator of the mirror type has an advantage in that its factor of attenuation of light is low and its aperture efficiency is high. Examples of the spatial light modulator of the mirror type are a digital micromirror device (DMD) and a piezoelectric driving type of micromirror device (AMA). The digital micromirror device (DMD) has the micromirrors which are tilted by electrostatic force and deflect light from the light source. The piezoelectric driving type of micromirror device (AMA) has the micromirrors which are tilted by piezoelectric elements of a small size. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,407 (corresponding to JP-A 09-164727) discloses the printer equipped with the digital micromirror device (DMD) as the spatial light modulator.
However, the printer according to the document has a shortcoming in its inevitably great size, because the printer includes a scanner section for reading an image and a paper exposure section, separate from the scanner section, for exposing the image to the photographic paper. There is a suggestion in JP-B 06-007247 disclosing the printer in which the scanner section and paper exposure section are unified. However, the light source for the paper exposure section to record to the photographic paper is individual from the light source for the scanner section. The printer is difficult to have a small size, as the necessity of the two light sources is inconsistent to reducing the size of the printer.